Album reviews
Kings of Convenience
Declaration of Dependence, Virgin Records
A
DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE, the latest release from Norwegian band Kings of Convenience, features an interesting mix of genres. Always maintaining a classic ‘70s acoustic soft-rock sound, the band descends into an indie feel on some tracks, and on others they come across like a European Jack Johnson. Despite their genre-bending style, the band sounds brilliant throughout the album. Singers Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambaek Bøe work together seamlessly to produce the shared vocals on the album. When the music and vocals combine on Declaration of Dependence, soulful, soothing music streams out, ultimately creating a calming, relaxed album. Their wide range of sounds reveals their dedication to their craft and their latest release shows the impact of practice and devotion, producing a multi-genre album that should appeal to anyone.
—Eleni Armenakis
Corbin Murdoch & The Nautical Miles
Wartime Lovesong, Jericho Beach Music
A
WARTIME LOVESONG, THE third release from Vancouver-based band Corbin Murdoch & The Nautical Miles, is an all-too-short compilation of mellow folk music. The combination of Murdoch’s rich, brooding voice with those of his female guest vocalists, paired with the use of brass instrumentals, borders on genius. The real strength, however, lies in Murdoch’s emotionally complex lyrics which delve deep into the lives of the album’s characters, who are searching for a sense of meaning. Tracks like “Penny Evans” and “Potted Flowers” quietly evoke a vast range of emotions from all over the spectrum. The title track in particular brings the band’s mastery of storytelling and poetry together with lines like: “Grandmother/Teach us how to sing/Teach us a wartime lovesong/And let us trust in love once again.” Wartime Lovesong is a complex yet subtle album and a wakeup call for the folk-rock country genre.
—Maja Stefanovska
Joss Stone
Colour Me Free!, Virgin Records
B-
AFTER MUCH CONTROVERSY over battles with her record label, Joss Stone’s fourth studio album, Colour Me Free!, has finally been released. Composed of a dozen loosely thrown together tracks, the album is actually considerably better than the singer’s previous efforts. Stone’s unmistakably breathy, powerful voice could make anything sound amazing— whether it be a ballad or a shopping list— making it inexplicable why time and time again her records succumb to emotionless R&B overproduction. Although this album does deliver much more originality than previous releases, fans may find themselves struggling to differentiate between songs. Tracks like “Free Me” and “I Believe It To My Soul” are the only exceptions. Both musically and lyrically the tracks veer more toward jazz, a genre that Stone excels in. However, “4 And 20,” “Governmentalist,” and “Incredible” melt into Stone’s repertoire without leaving an impression. While Colour Me Free! indicates there might be more complex and original music to come, it still fails to make an impact as a whole.
—Maja Stefanovska
AIR
Love 2, Astralwerks
LOVE 2, THE new record from French duo AIR (Amour, Imagination, Rêve), is a strange album. It features a heavily synthesized, electric sound, but surprisingly, is not quite right for dancing. Instead, the synths and vocals fashion hauntingly quiet and sombre songs in extreme varieties of duration. While the band’s technique reveals a great amount of creativity, the longer songs on the album—and their lack of syncopation—take away from their characteristic sound. The blasé tone sounds lacklustre and effortless, in fact sounding like someone hit repeat when recording and wandered off. AIR has explored the possibilities of electric sound to great effect on prior releases, but on Love 2 they seem too unwilling to make use of tried and true songwriting methods. The tracks on this album are too lengthy and drawn out to hold the average listener’s attention. Unfortunately, Love 2 needs more energy than the duo seemed willing to commit to this time around.
—Eleni Armenakis
